I'm supposed to be making bunting. No joke.
There should be fabric strewn all over my living room floor. I should be up to my elbows in wedding colors, tassels, tissue paper, dye, books, and lights. Pieces to projects have slowly been arriving at our house, but not in the order I'd like for them to. C'est la vie, right?
So instead of making bunting, I'm making brownies. Actually, I made two batches of brownies, both fudgy and dense.
And both frosted, as I feel all brownies should be.
Since this isn't exactly a wedding-related project, I'm having to keep this post short. All time between now and the wedding will have to be dedicated to my HUGE list of projects. Focus is difficult for me, and brownies are totally distracting me!
So I'm almost completely shocked I hadn't put up a brownie recipe yet. They're simple(ish), super delicious, and great all year. For this, I apologize. I'm sure you've been looking for a yummy chocolate brownie recipe for ages. This, kids, is one of the best I've tasted in a long time. So good I made it for a birthday celebration.
Double chocolate brownies make me feel like a kid again. Thick and fudgy with a hint of cake-y crumb, it's crazy to think you'd want your brownie any other way. To take these over the edge, you could add in chocolate chunks, toffee bits, nuts, marshmallows, even berries. But we frosted them to make them feel more celebratory, since it was for a couple of Leo ladies. Simple is sometimes the best way to go, don't you think?
Ugh. My heart wants to be in this post, but my brain keeps going over the long list of projects I have to tackle for this wedding. I'm beginning with tassels made of tissue and mylar strung on twine. It should be something I can knock out with efficiency, but the sheer number of them feels daunting to me. I really should go check to see if Cori's got enough X-acto blade action for the job...
Doesn't that look like the surface of some strange planet? I wonder if they have weddings on other planets in faraway galaxies. Do you think they do? Do you think they're in the middle of making tassels too?
Maybe I'll make these brownies again to give me my second wind when I move on to drilling holes in books. That'll be a crazy day, won't it? Their deep, dense flavor might be just the extra oompf I need to get my butt in gear. Which reminds I need to get a hole saw. And more chocolate.
Things around here will seem a bit... slow (as far as food posts go). I'm excited about all the display elements in our wedding, and they're definitely taking priority. You understand.
So bare with me for the next two months while I get the paper, fabric, and twine business in order, and I'll soon be back with butter, sugar, and chocolate. Hand to heart!
Double Chocolate Brownies with Mexican Caramel-Chocolate Frosting
Only slightly adapted from Joy the Baker. Hey girl, hey.
The brownies:
3/4 cup AP flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
preheat oven to 350*F. Grease a 8" square baking pan and line with parchment paper. Grease the paper and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Bring about 1 inch or so of water to a simmering semi-boil in a medium saucepan. In a medium, heat-proof bowl, combine the butter and chocolate. Place the bowl on top of the saucepan, ensuring the bottom of the bowl is not touching the simmering water. Whisk until chocolate and butter are both melted and smooth. Remove the bowl from the pot and whisk in both the sugars, then the eggs and egg yolk, and finally the vanilla until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture and fold together until the flour just disappears.
Pour the brownie batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, when a skewer inserted comes out relatively clean and the middle of the brownie is just set and no longer wiggly. Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack completely before frosting.
The Frosting:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used the super dark Droste Cocoa)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup dulce de leche (found in most grocery stores or mexican grocery marts)
scant 1/2 cup of heavy cream
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a standing mixer and beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth. Turn up the speed and beat until fluffy and soft peaks form. Frost the cooled brownies.
*one frosting recipe will frost 2 pans of brownies, so you should consider doubling the brownie recipe. or cutting the frosting recipe in half.*